Real Justice
by Hobbsey256
Summary: The Titans return to Jump City from Tokyo and quickly learn that the Red X suit has been returned to the tower. Not long after, they hear that someone has been on the streets dealing with crime while the Titans were gone! This 'someone' is more connected to the team than expected, though...
1. Returned Product

_**Before the Titans left for Tokyo…**_

Thumping.

All that Red X could hear was the beat of his heart, thumping at a slowly growing pace. His footsteps were totally silent, and his breath was as slow as a snail. He breathed through his nose steadily, which was uncomfortable but practical.

This was arguably his greatest theft yet; he was about to steal a nicely-sized package of magnesium from a ghetto laboratory run by a group of corrupt scientists involved with the mafia. They had once been studying simpler ways to defuse bombs, but they were laid off by their employers. Now, out of despair, they were working for mobsters and _building_ bombs.

Red X wanted nothing to do with building bombs, however. All he wanted was the magnesium.

During experimentation, Red X discovered that magnesium can be used to make xenothium heat up upon impact, delivering the pain of a slice _and_ a burn to anyone he needed to attack. Unfortunately for Red X, he only had a small amount of magnesium in his hideout, so he needed a lot more for further experimentation. This would mean he'd have to perform multiple thefts for magnesium, though, since he was limited to his hands and a few hidden pockets in his suit when it came to carrying the stuff.

He was tip-toeing his way along the thin catwalk above the main room of the warehouse that the scientists were building explosives inside of.

"Hand me a screwdriver, Michael," one of the scientists said.

Michael responded. "Which one do you need?"

"A small phillips."

Michael handed the scientist the screwdriver from a small set he had beside him, and was thanked with a slight nod.

Red X stopped moving for a moment, and poked his head out over the railing of the catwalk. " _Where is that magnesium?_ " he thought, looking down at the tables the scientists were working on top of.

Red X shifted his eyes towards all areas of the desk until he finally found what he was looking for, in a small metal case labeled "magnesium". Under his mask, he let a smile grow on his face. " _There you are. Papa's coming."_

He continued to walk along the catwalk until he reached the end of it, where he could easily jump to a large box and wait until the scientists cleared the room.

Or… just to spice things up a bit…

"Michael, hand me a pair of small forceps."

"Alright. Here."

"Thank- OOF!"

The scientist was pulled down by his lab coat to the floor by a sharp, crimson, X-shaped blade. He struggled to get back on his feet while the other scientists backed away from the desks, shaken by the sudden action.

"What in the name of- WOAH!"

Another scientist was greeted with a kick to the jaw from above, and was thrown backwards, toppling into the scientist named Michael.

Michael looked at his co-workers' attacker and recognized him instantly. "Red X!"

"Hello," Red X said before swinging his fist between Michael's eyes, knocking Michael to the ground and unconscious. "Good night."

Red X picked up the metal case and wasted no time finding his way out of the warehouse. He ran through the dark, gigantic corridor of boxes, holding his magnesium tightly under his arm. After finding the room's exit, he expected the rest of his escape to be as easy as pie.

He reached his free hand out to open the door, but the door was kicked open instead. He jumped back, not having expected anyone to catch him. Behind the open doors was a group of men in snazzy suits, each one holding a weapon of sorts. One had a gun, and the rest had things like baseball bats and crowbars. One even had a pool cue!

"Boys… good to see ya!" Red X said, stepping back slowly.

"It's even better to see you, _Red X_. We don't like when people steal from _us_." the eldest man said. He was the one with the handgun.

"Sure is unlucky for you that we had cameras under the table! Isn't that right, boss?" one of the mobsters said.

"Sure is, Jamie," the eldest one said. Red X acknowledged this, noting that the oldest man in the group in front of him was the big bossman.

"Look, guys, I'd really like to stay and chat. Hell, I'd like to crack open a few beers with ya! But I have places to go, and things to do," Red X said, getting ready to press the "teleportation" button on his belt.

But before he could do that successfully, he was smacked in the side of his head with something hard, cold, and metal. _A crowbar_ …

Red X fell to the floor, dropping the case of magnesium he'd just tried to steal, and froze.

"You ain't goin' nowhere!" A thug behind him said. "Got him, boss!"

"Good. Take that case back to the table where those dingus scientists are."

"You got it!"

…

"Hey, uh, boss? Red X ain't moving."

"And?"

"Is he dead? I mean… sometimes a crowbar to the head can kill a guy, ya know?"

"If he's dead, then that's one less problem we have to worry about."

"Yeah, but what are we gonna do with the body?"

"I dunno. Have fun with it, I guess?"

Cold metal… delivered swiftly and powerfully to the head… in a warehouse…

Red X couldn't move. This was all too familiar. He felt like he'd been here before…

" _Have I?_ " he thought.

" _..."_

" _Wait…_ "

" _...!_ "

 ** _The night the Titans return..._**

"Home, sweet home! It's good to be back!" Beast Boy shouted, stepping into the living room of the Titan's Tower. "Dude, it feels like forever since we've been in here!"

"You can say that again, BB!" Cyborg said. "And it also feels like forever since I've kicked your butt in Mega Combat Seven!"

"Oh… you're on, Robocop!" Beast Boy said. "Hey, last one to the console gets to be second player!" he said quickly before turning into a cheetah and racing to the gaming console under their gigantic television.

"Hey- NO FAIR!" Cyborg said, trying to catch up.

As Beast Boy and Cyborg argued over their game, Raven entered the room, already furrowing her eyebrows with irritation. She hovered upstairs towards her room, presumably to lock herself in, without saying a single word.

Finally, in unison, Robin and Starfire walked into the living room and plopped down with each other onto the couch. The two could barely separate from each other after their kiss in Tokyo after their battle with Brushogun. Neither Robin or Starfire had stopped smiling since their first _real_ kiss; it was a milestone in their relationship as friends, and the beginning of their relationship as lovers.

"Oh, Robin! I am joyed to be in the tower once again!" Starfire said, squeezing Robin in a tight hug. He would have hugged back, but his arms were currently being crushed by Starfire's strength.

As soon as she loosened her grip around Robin, he spoke. "So am I, Star."

As Robin and Starfire embraced each other in total bliss while Beast Boy and Cyborg competed against each other in a virtual deathmatch, Raven hovered back downstairs from her room, bearing the same expression she'd had when she went upstairs.

"Robin…" Raven said in her trademark monotone voice.

"Yeah, Raven?" Robin said, looking back behind the couch as Starfire cuddled his arm.

"You're going to want to see this," Raven said, a slightly more concerned tone to her voice now.

"Oh? What is it?" Robin asked, his other arm caressing Starfire's arm.

"Your room had a visitor while we were gone."

Instantaneously, Robin leaped up from the couch and hurried to his room to investigate, with Raven and Starfire following him.

Robin didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the hallway where their rooms were but was met with a gigantic mess when he entered his room. There were papers strewn about the cold floor of the large, shadowy room. Some of the papers had some of Robin's various gadgets on top of and under them, as well as his prototype gadgets and his older gadgets from Gotham City. But something in the room caught Robin's masked eyes. "Oh God…" was all that escaped his lips.

He rushed further into his room and found himself staring at one of his biggest mistakes as a leader, and as a friend.

"Friend Robin, is that…?"

"Red X was here…" Robin responded to Starfire.

On Robin's wall, just above his bed, the mask of the Red X was sloppily pinned to the wall with one of Robin's old 'birdarangs'. The rest of the costume was crumpled up on his bed, belt and everything. "How did he get in here?" Robin asked himself, looking all around the room for possible entryways apart from his door. There was no way that Red X could have gotten into his room without knowing the password for the panel outside the door!

"Perhaps Red X did the 'breaking of the in'?" Starfire suggested, her eyebrows middle-raised.

"I could figure out that much, but the question is how…" Robin muttered. He was trying his hardest not to start yelling about the situation; he didn't want to make himself look bad in front of Starfire any more than he has in the past.

"Perhaps he did the 'hacking'? Friend Cyborg taught me of 'hacking' once," Starfire said. "Though he did mention that the panels in front of our doors are 'proof of the hacking'…"

"They're supposed to be hack-proof…!" Robin said, still trying to figure out how anyone could have figured out how to get into his room.

"Maybe he teleported in? That's a feature you included with the belt when you built the Red X suit," Raven said, looking at the belt.

"But… that was never teleportation! It just turns you invisible, in a way, to give you a chance to escape! I don't think normal humans are even capable of building teleportation devices that small yet!" Robin said.

"Or maybe he just knew your password? It doesn't seem likely, but he might have figured it out somehow," Raven said.

"Maybe… but then how did he know?" Robin asked, perplexed. He stepped closer to the wall to take the mask off of it but stepped on something that ripped under his boot. He pulled his foot away and looked down to see a small, empty cardboard box labeled "J".

"No… it can't be gone! Where is it?!" Robin said, his voice raising.

"Robin, what is wrong? Something is missing?" Starfire asked, moving closer to Robin.

"Yeah, something's missing! It's a little VHS tape covered in green spray paint…! Did either of you see it anywhere else in the tower?" Robin asked, his fists clenching.

"I'm afraid not, Robin. Shall I attempt to find this tape of VHS?" Starfire asked.

"Uh… yeah! Go look for it! You, too, Raven. Help Star! Or look somewhere else! Find it, though!" Robin said speedily. He began to look under the numerous papers that had been scattered about the rest of the room, searching desperately for the missing tape that was supposed to be under his bed in a cardboard box. "I'll look in here! Go!"

"As you wish, dear Robin!" Starfire said. "Or… friend Robin? Whichever you prefer!"

"Uh… I'm fine with either one, Star!" Robin said, tossing a handful of papers behind him.

"I will be on my way, then! We will find the tape, Robin!" Starfire said, hoping to raise Robin's spirits. As Raven and Starfire left the room, Robin checked under his bed again, in case it had just fallen out. To his disappointment, however, the rest of the floor under his bed was empty.

"That damned _thief…_!"

 **R &R. I expect to continue this soon, but only time will tell. **


	2. TofuIsBetterThanMeat

"BOOYAH!"

"Aww, what?!"

"I STILL GOT IT, BABY!"

"Come on!"

Beast Boy threw down his controller and pouted as Cyborg celebrated his victory at the fighting game they were playing on their "PlayEngine 2". "You probably cheated or something! You know stuff about hacking, right?" Beast Boy said, accusing Cyborg of playing unfairly.

"If we were playing a ROM, I'd be able to hack it! But we're using the disk! You can't hack a disk! _Especially_ on a "PlayEngine" from two generations ago!" Cyborg retorted.

"Yeah? Well, you still probably cheated!"

"Pfft, is that your only response to losing?"

"Yeah! Because it's true! Duh!"

"HOW WOULD I HAVE CHEATED, THEN?"

"BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY I WOULD'A LOST IF YOU HADN'T CHEATED!"

"WELL, I- Starfire?"

Starfire had entered the living room without either of the two boisterous Titans noticing and had only noticed her when she picked up the "PainEngine" that Beast Boy and Cyborg had been playing on.

"Star? What're you doing?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head.

"Friend Robin has lost something, and he has requested that Raven and I search for it!" Starfire replied, checking everywhere behind the television that Cyborg and Beast Boy had been playing on.

"Robin lost something? What did he lose?" Cyborg asked, standing up, ready to help search for the missing item.

"He has lost a tape of VHS! Perhaps it was not simply misplaced, however," Starfire answered. "Red X may have stolen it!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Red X? He was here?!" Beast Boy asked, his voice rising in volume.

"How did he get in? I thought I had this tower locked down before we left!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"He may have done the breaking off in, but we are unsure at the moment!" Starfire said, checking under the shelf below the television.

"Wait, what's so important about some VHS tape? Those things are super old!" Beast Boy asked.

"Maybe it holds some kind of sentiment?" Cyborg suggested. "Did he tell you, Star?"

"He has not, but perhaps because I did not ask. I am sure he will tell us, though!" Starfire said.

"Hey, did he say anything about how it smelled? I can turn into a bloodhound and sniff it out!" Beast Boy said before morphing himself into the animal and letting out a 'bark'.

"Robin did not mention the aroma of the tape. Shall I ask him?" Starfire asked.

Beast Boy morphed back into his humanoid form, and responded: "Nah, I'll ask! He's in his room, right?"

"He is!" Starfire said, nodding.

Before Beast Boy could head upstairs, though, Robin walked downstairs to check the living room. "Have you found it, Star?" He asked.

"I fear not," she replied, frowning. "But maybe Raven has located it?"

"I haven't."

The other four Titans looked in the direction of their cloaked friend as she entered the living room. Raven floated further into the room before halting as the other Titans searched for the tape. She directed her vision towards Robin, then shut her eyes and began to meditate in midair, taking her usual crossed-leg position, and placing her fingertips together.

"Hey, Robin, what did the tape smell like?" Beast Boy asked.

"Huh?" Robin said, turning to Beast Boy. "Uh… dusty, I guess? I never actually smelled it…"

"There's a lot of dusty things in the tower, but I'll still look for you!" Beast Boy said, morphing himself back into the bloodhound he had been earlier.

"Robin?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, Raven?" Robin asked.

"You're distressed… and confused. what was on that tape that makes it so important?" Raven asked, one of her eyebrows raised.

"Uh… nothing," Robin responded.

"That's suspicious," Cyborg said, raising his eyebrow as well.

"Look, it's a more… personal thing. That's all," Robin said.

"Woah, like how personal? Like… family memories, or naughty nighttime adventures kinda personal?" Cyborg asked, smirking.

"Wha- HEY!" Robin yelled.

"Hehe, I'm just messin' with ya. It's too dark in that room of yours to be able to film anything, anyway," Cyborg said, poking more fun at Robin.

"Grr… look, we _need_ to find this tape. It's more important than you think. You know that Red X probably took it, right?" Robin said.

"Yeah, Star told us. I'll try and figure out how he got in after we're done finding this tape… unless he took it. Then we can't," Cyborg said.

"We _will_! And find out now! We need to make sure he doesn't take anything else!" Robin said.

"Alright. I'll head over to the security office," Cyborg said. "But… what could Red X do with that tape? What _is_ on it?"

"Nothing you should worry about," Robin replied coldly.

"Alright, alright… but it'd better not be anything bad. If it is, you _need_ to tell us," Cyborg said, walking into the Tower's elevator to head to the floor with the Tower's security office.

" _We'll see…_ "

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

The clear rain fell heavily down from the dark skies, each thick drop smacking against the streets of Jump City. Streetlights and electrical light from inside the buildings behind the sidewalks lit up the streets, and the moon illuminated them with a nightly, white glow.

A young couple walked side-by-side together along the sidewalks, holding each others' hands to keep close. He held an umbrella over him and his significant other's heads to keep them dry from the pouring rain.

"Don't worry, we're almost home," he said to her. She responded with a sweet smile and gaze as they continued to walk.

As they were walking, her eyes widened in worry. "Oh no, I think I forgot my wallet at the restaurant!" she said, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Uh-oh! Do you wanna go back and get it, or...?" her boyfriend suggested, looking equally worried.

"Well... we should check that I have it, first. I might have it, but..." her voice trailed off.

The man looked past his girlfriend and saw an alleyway entrance just behind her. "Should we head in there and check?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she responded before they entered the alley.

It was a little darker in the alleyway, but there were enough lights inside of it to be able to see clearly. The light of the moon was blocked by the roof of one of the buildings next to the alley, however. The rain continued to pour.

"I'm sorry about this, Max... I should have kept better track of my wallet," she said to her boyfriend, looking down in shame as she opened her tiny, velvet purse.

"It's okay, Emma. You might still have it, anyway!" Max said, smiling at his lover. She smiled back, then started shuffling through her purse to find her wallet.

A few moments passed by before either of them said anything. "Oh, I have it! I'm so silly, I'm sorry!" Emma said, grinning.

"Hey, it's no problem," Max said, grinning back. "Let's get ho-wha-?!"

Suddenly, Max was yanked further into the alleyway by a taller, stronger man. His beard was sharp and short, and his face was as dirty as a garbage can. He had numerous neck tattoos and wore a vest over his otherwise naked chest. The man pinned Max against the brick wall of the alleyway and pulled out a knife.

"MAX!" Emma screamed, taking a step back out of shock.

"Emma, run!" Max said, paying closer attention to his girlfriend than his captor.

"Don't you dare run or I'll cut this pretty boy's throat open! _Then I'll make you drink it!_ " Max's captor said, holding his weapon dangerously close to Max's throat.

"Oh, God, Max!" Emma said, completely still. Her hands instinctively moved over her mouth, and her face heated up in terror.

"Give me everything you have, girl," the man growled. "Then your boyfriend's gonna give me everything _he_ has! Then _maybe_ I'll let you go."

"O-okay! Just please don't hurt him!" Emma said, reaching inside of her purse almost instantly.

"I won't have to as long as you- WOAH!" the man was interrupted as _he_ was yanked further into the alley, dropping Max in the process. He was raised off of the ground by a man taller than _him_ and put into a ridiculously firm chokehold. "O-oh, God! What the hell?!"

What the thug saw holding him up was a masked figure. A red sort of _visor_ covered up his whole head, and _that_ was covered by a red hood. The visor was glowing like a computer from the inside, but there was no way to see through it. There weren't even eye holes! He had a dark, brown jacket made of leather and black gloves with an unbelievably strong-gripping material on the palms. There was something on his chest that looked almost like _the Batman's_ symbol, but far simpler, and without ears. The thug couldn't see much more than that, but he wasn't _too_ focused on it.

" _You two go get some help. I'll deal with this chump._ " the red-hooded figure said. His voice had some sort of filter over it to make it sound just _a little_ robotic, but his voice was still recognizable as a human's.

"O-okay!" Max said, rubbing his freed neck. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Emma, come on!" Max said, gesturing Emma to follow him to retrieve help. They had left so quickly that they forgot to grab Max's umbrella.

The thug sat in the figure's chokehold, grasping at _his_ captor's arms. "W-who the hell are you?!" he managed to sputter out.

"Right now? Not your best friend," the figure began, his voice slightly comical. "But depending on what you have to tell me, I'd love to be your greatest pal."

"What?" the thug said, perplexed. "What the hell do you-"

"What the hell do I mean? Is that what you're about to say?" the figure said, finishing the thug's sentence. "I've heard this before. It's what everyone says when they're being interrogated about something they don't think other people know about."

"What do you want to know?" the thug asked, staring into where he imagined the figure's eyes to be. The visor's glow was cold and lifeless... he didn't like it.

"Let me help you out, buddy. I'm gonna give you a name, and you'll probably be able to understand what I mean," the figure said. " _Tony Zucco._ "

The thug was silent for a moment. How could anyone have known about his business with Zucco? He was one of the most secretive mobsters out there! "I, uh..."

"I know you have some kind of business with him. I saw you there one night. You were even talking to the main man himself... Mr. Tony Zucco," the figure said in a patronizing tone. "So just tell me anything you know about him. His whereabouts, his plans, _anything_. I'll take anything. But I want _as much as you can give_."

"Look, I don't have any business with that guy! Honest! I don't even know what night you're talking about!" now the thug was being semi-honest. He didn't recall ever seeing this figure... _ever_ , really. This was his first experience with this guy.

The figure sighed, then hung his head for a moment. He brought it back up, and spoke. "If that's the way you wanna be, then be that way..." he paused. "As long as you're ready to spend your life in a wheelchair."

This was obviously a threat. But the thug was gonna act tough. "Ha! You don't scare me, punk! I don't know _nothin'_!"

"Okay, punk. My turn, then.

The figure pulled the thug off of the wall and slammed him against the dirty, grimy ground. The figure placed his booted foot heavily against the thug's chest and reached for one of his legs. "Ow, hey! What're you doi-"

The most sickening crack the thug had ever heard just rang through his ears, and it came from his right leg.

"AAAGH! WHAT THE HELL!" he screamed, hot tears forming in his eyes.

"You think that's bad?!" the figure shouted down at the thug. "I haven't even done enough to make it _unfixable_!"

Suddenly, the thug was absolutely terrified. "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" His main objective at this point was to save himself from this figure. "I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW! PLEASE! STOP!"

Everything went quiet, except for the pained wails from the thug. His breath was shaking around like a little toddler's. His nose was practically _shooting_ mucus. His face was hotter than the sun at this point.

"So what do you want to tell me, pal?" the figure said, unfittingly calmly.

"I-I-I have d-debts! I b-borrowed s-s-some money from Zucco! Th-they're late, though, s-so he gave me extra time to get them as l-long as I s-start working for him afterward!" the thug cried, stuttering all over the place.

"So you've been taking things from innocent people so you can pay off some debts, eh?" the figure guessed. He knew that he was right.

"Y-yes! I h-have to or else Zucco's m-men will kill me!"

"So do you know _where_ Zucco's staying? And why he's here, too? I thought he was a Gotham mobster," the figure asked.

"H-he's here because of some kind of traveling circus! Haly's C-Circus, I think?"

"I'm familiar with Haly's Circus. Is he still trying to get them to pay for his "protection"?" the figure asked.

"Y-yes! I think so! They're in J-Jump right now! They're showing all week! He wants t-to strike on Saturday!"

"So in five days."

"Y-yeah..."

"Where is he staying?"

"He's not told a-anyone! I think he s-stole someone's ID and is staying at a h-hotel somewhere... or maybe he's set up s-some kind of living quarters in o-one of the warehouses he's c-controlling?" the thug whimpered.

"Which hotels and warehouses?"

"I don't know which hotels, but... I do know he has warehouse 44-C under his control! But that's the only one I know, I swear!" the thug begged. His tears had dried up on his face and in his gnome-ish beard, only to be replaced by more moments after.

"You promise that's all you know?" the figure asked.

"That's all I know!"

"Good job, buddy. Was that so hard?" the figure teased. He removed his foot from the thug's chest, and stared at him for a moment.

"Wait! W-what about Zucco's men! They'll kill me now!" the thug pleaded.

"Nah, I'm sure the guards for your prison cell will keep you safe," the figure said.

"Wha-no! Who are you to put me in prison?!" the thug yelled, gripping carefully at his crippled leg.

" _Who am I_?"

The figure paused.

"Call me the Red Hood."

The Red Hood pulled a strange gun-like object out of his jacket and aimed it at the roof of one of the buildings that made up the alley. He fired it, and a strong rope with a sort of hook on the end was launched toward the roof. In almost an instant, the Red Hood was pulled up to the roof by the hooked rope and disappeared past the edge of the roof.

The thug tried to stand up now that he wasn't pinned down, but almost screamed in pain when he moved his broken leg. Defeated, he laid still on the cold, wet ground of the alleyway. All he could do now was wait for the police to arrive since that couple left to get them. Either that or he'd just sit there until someone found him. Either way, he'd ultimately been defeated. Looking into the sky, he realized that it was no longer raining. He must've been paying so much attention to the Red Hood that he didn't even notice.

He closed his eyes to try and sleep away the pain, but the pain was the only thing keeping him awake. All he could do was sit there in excruciation and discomfort, waiting for the cops to pick him up and toss him in a cell. At least that was better than being killed by Tony Zucco's men...

 _ **Later…**_

"No… _dammit_! This is hopeless…" Robin said, his brow furrowing under his mask and his green-gloved fists balled. Starfire saw this and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Robin… it is likely that Red X took the tape you seek, but we will get it back! We, as your team _and_ your friends, will make sure we do!" Starfire said, smiling at Robin.

"Thanks, Star, but… why would he steal it in the first place? It couldn't have been of any value to him…" Robin questioned.

"Perhaps it did have a level of value to Red X? Or, maybe, the level of value it held to him was that it held value to _you_. Red X is our enemy, so it would make sense that he would want to hurt you," Starfire said, frowning at the thought.

"But he couldn't have known what was on that tape…! Unless he watched it, that is… but then… gah, I don't know!" Robin said, tightly gripping his hair.

"Yo, Rob!" Beast Boy called from under a desk in a canine position. He had forgotten to get out from under the desk before he morphed into his humanoid form.

"Yeah? Did you find it?" Robin asked.

"No, but I was listening to you and Star. Does that tape have your secret identity on it or something? 'Cause if Red X has something like that, then you might be in huge trouble!" Beast Boy said. "You know, because he could blackmail you or something with it, or he could look for people you care about… who are you, actually? You've never told us that!" Beast Boy said, quickly changing subjects.

"I… probably shouldn't tell you that."

"Aww, come on! We've been together as a team for years! You still don't want us to know who you are?" Beast Boy whined.

"Look, it's a risky move to reveal myself to you all. If any of our enemies find out that you know, then they could hurt you until you give in and tell them," Robin explained.

"Yeah, but what if we promise not to give in?"

"Still, it's too risky," Robin said.

"Fine! But then can you at least tell us what's on that tape we've all been looking for?" Beast Boy asked.

"It's… something. Important, but… look, we won't find it here. If it _is_ here, Cyborg can locate it while he's in the security office. If Red X took it, then Cyborg will be able to confirm that. The bigger picture, though, is that Red X got in without the tower sending an alarm signal to Cyborg," Robin said, squinting his eyes.

"Then we shall find him! And when we do, we will get the missing tape back!" Starfire cheered.

"Robin?" Raven said.

"What's up, Rae?"

"That tape was hidden under your bed. That means you didn't want anyone to find out about it… what's on there that you don't want us to know?" Raven asked.

"It's complicated… look, I kno-"

Robin was interrupted when his communicator started to beep. "Hang on, Raven. It's Cyborg."

Robin answered the call and was greeted by Cyborg. "Hey, Robin. I found out how Red X got in and out of the tower," Cyborg said, focusing on what was probably security footage.

"How did he do it, then?" Robin asked.

"He… walked inside. He didn't _break in_ , he entered the password for the front door, then walked inside. It was _his own_ password, Robin."

"What?" Robin said, dumbfounded.

"I have no idea how he got in when he first stole the Red X suit, but when he was here while we were in Tokyo, he must have set a password for himself to enter. You know how each of us have a password, right? Star's is "Xhal", yours is "Todd", Beast Boy's is "TofuIsBetterThanMeat", so on?" Cyborg asked, putting a silly voice on for Beast Boy's password.

"Yeah. Did he set one for himself?" Robin guessed.

"He did... I don't know if it's something personal to him or anything, but it's "BatsAreOverrated".

"Bats are overrated? Uh, hasn't this guy ever heard of _BATMAN_?!" How is BATMAN overrated?" Beast Boy said, shocked at what he considered banality.

"It might be personal _towards_ Batman... that seems like an awfully strange password. Especially for someone who's almost an equal match combat-wise with me..." Robin said. "He seems like the kind of guy who'd have something against heroes like Batman."

"I'm deleting the password now... I've got some news that you might wanna come and check out, though," Cyborg said. "Apparently, some couple was saved by a guy called "The Red Hood". Think we have another good guy on our side?" Cyborg asked.

"The _RED HOOD?!_ " Robin said, nearly shouting into his communicator. "That's the last thing any sane 'good guy' would call himself! Do you know who the Red Hood is?!"

"Woah, calm down. I've heard of the Red Hood before, Robin," Cyborg reassured. "But maybe they just have a similar name? It's not too likely you'd see some old criminal - who hasn't even been seen since _Batman_ dealt with him - going out and saving people. Believe it or not..." Cyborg paused. "This Red Hood guy's saved a lot of people while we've been gone."

"Oh, the Red Hood's been seen alright. But you do have a point... it could just be a coincidence. I'll be down there with you in a minute. Be there soon, Cyborg.

 **I had more written for this chapter, but I figured I'd save that for the beginning of the third chapter. That's two chapters in two days. Yay.**

 **R &R! I like reading reviews. I hope to flesh out the Red Hood a bit more in the next few chapters. Maybe starting bigtime with chapter 4. Blablabla**

 **Again, R &R! Thanks. **


	3. INTERMISSION 1

THIS IS IMPORTANT

Go back and read the last two chapters if you are reading this. I've changed the order of some events, and I've changed a few key aspects of the story.

But I feel like I've made it better. I have plans for the future of this story.

Read and review! THANK YOU FOR READING :D


	4. Sparking Controversy

"So... Robin? Who _is_ the Red Hood? Doesn't sound like you like him very much," Beast Boy asked.

"He's... no one. I need to head down to the security room," Robin avoided the subject and quickly paced toward the room's exit to reach the elevator. "Check any news sources for things we might have missed while we were gone."

"Robin, may I come with you?" Starfire asked.

Robin stopped for a moment. He was about to say 'sure', but _the Red Hood_ had been brought up in his conversation with Cyborg. As far as Robin knew, Starfire knew nothing about _the Joker,_ and he didn't want to ruin that level of innocence that Starfire had. Surely she'd been through a lot, but... this was _Joker_. She couldn't be ready for him _ever_. If the Joker's former identity was brought up in the security lab with Cyborg, Robin didn't want Starfire learning about him.

"Sorry, Starfire. Not this time," Robin said sternly, a firm decision set in his mind. He felt horrible for telling Starfire 'no' to something that seemed so harmless to her, but he wasn't about to change his mind. "Sorry..." Robin said, his gut pained with guilt.

"Oh... I understand," Starfire said, her face faltering for a brief moment. "Then I shall remain here and scour the sources of news with Beast Boy and Raven!" Her enthusiasm put a smile on Robin's face before he turned and walked out, feeling slightly less guilty.

 _ **A few minutes later...**_

Cyborg sat in a large chair in front of a bunch of monitors, each one with something different open on it. He had multiple news sites opened, security footage opened, etcetera. His large fingers covered the computer's mouse, clicking in various places on the monitors. He was reading through articles based in Jump City, looking through security camera footage in the tower. The door to the security room opened, and Robin stepped inside.

"There you are," Cyborg said, glancing at Robin with his robotic eye. "I've got a few updates on news for ya, and I've also removed Red X's password from the system. If he wants to get in like he did while we weren't here, he'll have to break in and reset the password."

"Thanks, Cyborg," Robin began. "Before you tell me anything about that, though, give me details on the Red Hood," Robin said. When the only image that popped into his head was the _old_ Red Hood, he clarified. "The one here in Jump."

"I know," Cyborg began. "The Red Hood _here_ and _now_ has been doing pretty much what we've been doing. I guess he's been seen with guns a few times, but there's nothing in the news saying that he's killed anybody."

"No one?" Robin asked, surprise apparent in his tone.

"No one. You seem surprised," Cyborg mentioned.

"I am. Maybe _our_ Red Hood just hasn't heard of the old Red Hood," Robin suggested.

"Maybe... hey, you said that the _old_ Red Hood's been seen since the Batman dealt with him. What's with that?" Cyborg asked. "I've not heard a word about the guy."

"The _old_ Red Hood became _the_ _Joker_ ," Robin said.

"What?"

"It's not super common knowledge. It was only ever between me, Batman, Agent-A, Batgirl, and... someone else," Robin said, trailing off, thinking about his missing tape once again.

"Someone else?"

"No one. Don't worry about it."

"Whatever you say... so just the big heroes in Gotham, eh?" Cyborg said.

"Pretty much. A few other people know, too, but not too many others."

"Glad to be a part of the secret, then..." Cyborg said, smirking, then pausing. "If it is a secret, that is."

"It _kind of_ is. I wouldn't tell anyone unless it's a situation like this," Robin advised.

"Sounds good. My lips are sealed," Cyborg said. "About the news... I figured you might wanna hear a few things _specifically_. Just heard about these things while you were headed down here."

"What are they?"

"Well," Cyborg began, "First of all, Haly's Circus is in Jump City this week."

Robin's eyes widened, and a smile grew on his face. "Really? _Haly's_ Circus?"

"Yep," Cyborg said, smiling. "I figured you might wanna find some time to go and see a show there. I know that Haly's is special to ya."

Robin could barely get words out of his mouth. Haly's Circus in Jump? Robin's mind flashed back to all of the wonderful memories he'd created during his time there. He remembered eating dinner with his family and friends/co-workers, spending time with the animals and learning to control them peacefully, and most of all, he remembered the absolute thrill of flipping around, from one trapeze to another, at deadly, yet exciting heights with his dear mother and father.

He also remembered their deaths... the trapeze ropes had been sabotaged by a gang of criminals attempting to extort money out of Mr. Haly. Robin was lucky that he hadn't died _with_ his parents. He just so happened to be on one of the two platforms when they fell. When the rope _snapped_.

But still... Robin had so many amazing childhood memories there that left him with a sense of nostalgia. It was refreshing, thinking about Haly's Circus. A simpler time in Robin's life. When he wasn't living with the responsibility of being _Robin_. Back when he was just _Richard Grayson_.

"Wow... thanks, Cyborg," Robin said, almost in disbelief that his childhood home was in the same city as him once more.

"No problem, Rob," Cyborg said, turning back to the monitor. "Now, about the Red Hood..."

"What about him?" Robin asked, stepping next to Cyborg to get a closer look at the monitor.

"He's pretty much just doing what we're doing. He's not been robbing places or trying to take over the city... but he's definitely got harsher methods of fighting," Cyborg said.

"Harsher? How much harsher?"

"Well... take a look at this report. Written by a journalist who arrived at the scene of a crime where the Red Hood was said to have saved a couple earlier tonight. Check it out."

 _ **XXXXXXXXXX**_

 _Just earlier tonight, Jacob Malt, a common crook, attempted to rob a young couple, Maxwell Owens and Emily-Joyce Beerlash. Malt threatened to kill the couple, according to Maxwell. Emily says "he threatened to kill Maxwell... and make me drink his blood. I've never been more terrified"._

 _Thankfully for the two, Jump City's newest hero, The "Red Hood" showed up and rescued them. Unfortunately for Malt, The Red Hood left him with a nasty, broken leg. Malt claims that he was "left in the alley for a half an hour" while Maxwell and Emily got help from local law enforcement._

 _This is one of the many times in the past week that the Red Hood has saved multiple lives, all while bringing down another crook to make Jump City a better place._

 _Some people in Jump don't agree with the level of violence that the Red Hood has displayed within this week. I interviewed two groups of eight people, each group with an opposite opinion on vigilantism in America. John White, a supporter of vigilantism, says "it's great to know that we have another hero on our side. That there's someone out there keeping us safer"._

 _In contrast, Ryan Chai, a non-supporter of vigilantism, says "this new "hero" is being much harsher than the other "heroes" in Jump City. He breaks bones and leaves the criminals to suffer alone, whereas the Teen Titans bring criminals into law enforcement's custody, just unconscious. I've heard he's been seen with guns, as well? What happens when "heroes" like this snap and go crazy on us civilians? I won't stand for them. This has gone too far."_

 _For the full transcript of each interview, visit my website-_

 ** _XXXXXXXXXX_**

"Not only is he being harsher toward criminals, he's also sparking a little bit of controversy," Cyborg said. "Just what we need right after that whole thing in Japan... ya know. Saico Tek and all..."

"Right," Robin said, glancing away. "We should keep an eye out for this Red Hood."

"What do we do when we find him? He _is_ harsher, but... no harsher than Batman, right?"

Robin stopped for a moment. Batman _was_ this harsh, wasn't he? If not harsher, anyway. He'd been away from Gotham for so long that he forgot how mean Batman was to villains like Riddler, Two-Face, and... _Joker_. He and the Titans weren't as harsh, though. They'd just apprehend and return the criminals to prison. Hell, sometimes they'd still be awake during the process! But there are still more violent methods.

"Right... we don't have to apprehend him, I suppose," Robin said. "But we should advise him, at least, to go a little easier so he doesn't get himself Batman levels of controversy."

"Seems fair. Just in case, you wanna keep an eye on him anyway?" Cyborg asked.

"Of course. You never know if there's some sort of ulterior motive," Robin said. "Let's head back upstairs with the rest of the Titans. Order a pizza, maybe? We still have to eat," Robin suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!"


End file.
